Global South Anglican

To speak of Anglicanism today, either as a church tradition or as an ecclesial communion, is to speak of one of the most vibrant and unstable expressions of Christianity within the world.  Churches are growing in numbers in some areas of the world at a staggering pace. In other parts of the world, ideas are being articulated and debates are taking place with a dizzying energy.  We all know that relations – within national Anglican churches and among them – are charged, confusing, and re-ordering themselves every day with unexpected direction and sometimes ferocity.  How does this experienced picture of the Anglican Church match the image of the stodgy and tempered parochial life of rural England that we still carry in our imaginations?

The year 2007, then, is a gift from God to us:  a gift to provoke our gratitude for the witness and efforts of others;  a gift to provoke our repentance and sorrow at the sins and sufferings our ancestors have caused and received, and that we ourselves continue to perpetuate in different ways;  a gift to provoke our vocation to fulfill the Christian imperative of life in the Body, accountable, sustaining, and self-giving for the life of the world.  May the Lord continue to open our eyes.

The vestry of Grace and St. Stephen’s, Colorado Springs, announced its intention (March 26) for the parish to leave the Diocese of Colorado and affiliate with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). The parish’s rector, the Rev. Don Armstrong, has also transferred to CANA.

The Living Church report: Colorado Springs Parish Plans to Join CANA.

For more news and reports on the situation, go here.

Summary of the latest comments on the recent House of Bishops’ statements

Ephraim Radner: What Way Ahead – Part Two

Christopher Seitz: The Pastoral Council and the Primatial Vicar & earlier, The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion

Jordan Hylden: The Episcopal Declaration of Independence

Graham Kings: The Church of England:More than Evangelical but not Less

The sensitivities of this exercise are obvious. Social, cultural and legal contexts are very varied indeed. And in the present climate of the Anglican Communion, there is inevitably a suspicion either that this is just window-dressing, or that it is a covert programme for changing doctrine and discipline. Real – and mutual – listening is hard to achieve. There are contexts where it is difficult to find a safe place for gay and lesbian people to speak about their lives openly. There are contexts where people assume the debate is over. The report shows that listening is possible, but also that there is a great deal still to be done. The work continues, but we have a solid start here.

The summaries of the Listening Process can be found here

“The recent House of Bishops meeting made clear that the alienation between TEC’s leadership and the Anglican Communion as a whole, at least as represented by its Instruments of Communion, has become currently unbridgeable. The bishops of TEC are convinced that their policies of gay inclusion are non-negotiable, and even the Presiding Bishop has made clear that there is “no going back” on actions and commitments made on this score. The clarity of the bishops’ and Executive Council’s and General Convention’s statements around this subject give the lie to any claim that TEC’s leadership is interested in “listening”, let alone learning from the rest of the Communion, or that they perceive their commitments even to be a part of some “reception” process of testing. They have made their decision regarding the absolute imperative of the Gospel on this score (as they see it), and no amount of conferences and dialogues on biblical “hermeneutics” and “cultural perspectives” will budge them from their perceived duty. Those within the church who disagree may be granted some measure of space to live out their ministries (although who knows?); but it has now been made very clear that they have no standing to oppose, for their views have been judged illegitimate. There is no place to go, in their view, but either towards an embrace of their now settled convictions, or away to the fading margins of their domain….I was struck, at the recent House of Bishops’ meeting, with the open abuse, often personally directed, thrown at the Primates by many of our bishops.”

Ed: This article by Ephraim Radner is revealing (of the attitude of most in the HOB). We should read beyond the veneer of Christian-speak and grapple with the current realities. Only when truth is faced with the truth that the Communion can resolved this crisis and move on. We are all very tired of these.

The Statements and Resolutions released on 20th of March

A Message to God’s People…from the Bishops of the Episcopal Church.

From Bishop John Howe, Florida

From Bishop Kirk Smith, Arizona

From Bishop Henry Parsley, Alabama

Responses & Reports:

Ephraim Radner: Which Way ahead?

AAC Statement on the Episcopal House of Bishops’ March 2007 Meeting

Associate Press: Episcopal bishops reject ultimatum

USA Today: Episcopal bishops reject ultimatum

Virtue Online: Episcopal Church House of Bishops rejects Primates’ Ultimatum

Ed - For those who have eyes to read, ears to hear and minds to discern, it is not difficult to see where TEC wants to go and consistently so. You link this up with the recent rejection of Mark Lawrence on grounds of ‘canon laws” and other actions being taken, and you see clearly where the will of the PB and TEC HOB lies.

A Statement and Resolutions from TEC House of Bishops – March 20, 2007

As I said to the Episcopal News Service immediately after the meeting, the most well-represented view around the table was that the covenant was preventative. According to that view, the point of a covenant is to prevent any significant change from occurring in the Church’s doctrine and practice. Proponents of that view were and are eager to have a covenant in place as quickly as possible, so that there will be procedures available to prevent any unwelcome innovations from their point of view. There had been discussion earlier that the covenant drafting and discussion process might take as long as ten years, but at our meeting it became clear that the covenant process would be moving at top speed. It was even suggested at one point that the completed covenant be ratified by all bishops at Lambeth 2008. The present timetable is not quite that fast: the Anglican Communion will have until the end of 2007 (so about nine months) to respond to the Proposed Anglican Covenant. Then the Covenant Design Group or some other group will re-craft the Covenant for approval at Lambeth and the ratification process will happen as soon as possible after that. The point is, we’re talking about an accelerated process.